Reviewed and updated October 11, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026.
Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County, has about 145,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Columbia starts two cases, a criminal case in a Magistrate or Municipal Court and a license case before the Department of Motor Vehicles, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Columbia public records, Richland County DUI, Columbia arrest records, Columbia warrants, Columbia inmate search, Columbia criminal records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
The DUI Law in South Carolina
Drunk driving is charged as DUI in South Carolina, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.
Driving in South Carolina is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Department of Motor Vehicles, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, South Carolina counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Columbia
The Richland County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Columbia (filed by the FBI as Columbia Police Department) make the DUI arrests in and around Columbia.
The FBI's agency list also places seven state agencies, three campus police departments, one other agency and one state police unit in Richland County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Highway Patrol in Richland County makes the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the four agencies in Richland County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,800 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Richland County does not break DUI out.
The Cayce Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Richland County, so its arrests are not broken out for Richland County here.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Columbia
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Richland County Sheriff's Office, held about 800 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at jail.richlandcountysc.gov. The Columbia inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The case is heard in a Magistrate or Municipal Court, brought by the Solicitor or, in a municipal court, by the city's own prosecutor.
The Solicitor's page SearchSystems verified is at scsolicitor5.org.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at sccourts.org/courts/courthouse-search/richland, phone (803) 576-1950.
South Carolina has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The Department of Motor Vehicles runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.
- The court file: from a Magistrate or Municipal Court, kept by the Clerk of Court.
- The driving record: from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.
More on each: Columbia arrest records, Columbia police reports and Columbia court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in South Carolina?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Columbia heard?
In a Magistrate or Municipal Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at sccourts.org.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Columbia held?
At the county jail, run by the Richland County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in South Carolina?
The Department of Motor Vehicles, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does a DUI count as a prior in South Carolina?
10 years.
Is this the official Columbia website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.